1978 to Present: Students and Scholars from Contemporary China

Chih-Tang Sah

ChengXiang Zhai for receiving the UIUC Presidential Award

Professor Chang Liu and Graduate Student with Polymer Etched Computer Chip

Yoo-Hua Chu using multiple-wavelength emissions to study the universe

Professor Jianjun Cheng develops a technique to deliver gene-related therapies

Professor Lui Sha is awarded the title of Fellow of the Association of Computer Machinery

Professor Song 

Professor K.C. Ting

Lun Shin Wei's Legacy

Professor Xiaodong Song

Liangfang Zhang and Liang Hong

Professor Weimo Zhu and other UI researchers

Cloud Computing

Professor Cheng and Colleagues

Drug that Helps to Stall Cancer

Professor Li

Drug that Kills Malaria

Critical Stem Cell Information

Professor Wang-Ping Chen and his doctoral student Tai-Lin Tseng

Professor Gerard Wong

Greg Huan

Professor Yuayuan Zhou and Fixing Software Bugs

Dr. Yuanhui Zhang page in Ripleys Believe it or Not

Dr. Yuanhui Zhang page in Ripleys Believe it or Not Edition

After the Cultural Revolution, many Chinese citizens decided to continue their education by returning to college. The government was also trying to send their citizens to America to study to help further China's development. However, many people that were younger, were not qualified to attend due to Mao's leadership and lack of education. Therefore, a lot of older Chinese Citizens (between 30-40 years old), also known as visiting scholars instead of students because of their age range, that had an education prior to Mao, decided to attend UIUC due to the relationships that had already been created before the Cultural Revolution (2). Not only that, but many people had heard of UIUC at the time and were familiar with the good reputation the university has had. UIUC has worked very hard to become a global school and they recognize that International Students are a huge part of the community (1). 

UIUC has also maintained their relationship with the Zhejiang University where they have asked UIUC's College of Engineering department to provide engineering training. In 2016, UIUC and Zhejiang University worked together to provide computer engineering and electrical engineering to students at Zhejiang University. In 2017, they also provided civil engineering and mechanical engineering while having a program where students could earn a degree from UIUC (1). 

After Trump was elected in 2016, he created policies that made getting a student visa a bit harder during a trade war with China. This cut down government issued student visa's by 15 percent This created a dip in Chinese International Student attendance in 2018. However, by the next year, more than a thousand more Chinese students applied for the 2019-2020 school year. Many people realized that obtaining a visa was not much harder than it was prior and many, once again, made the decision to apply to UIUC due to it's reputation. However, another reason the application rate dipped in 2018 was because UIUC had been ranked as one of the top 50 schools in the world but in 2018, they did not make the list (2).

In 2017, UIUC took out an insurance policy for $60,000 just in case the Chinese attendance rate dropped. UIUC recognizes that they rely on the Chinese International student population because it has the most Chinese International Students attending in the U.S (7). 

Many thought that another influence on International students attendance was the death of a Chinese International student on campus, YingYing Zhang. However, Zhangs family and many supporters understood that the person to blame is Brett Christenson.

The Chinese Community and UIUC Merging

Students from China that have attended UIUC have shown a drive for education ever since Wu Ting Fan and Edmond Jones effort to build International relationships began. So many alumni, professors, and students have helped or found groundbreaking research through their hard work such as, advancement in farming, technology, and health. With all of the obstacles and pain that Chinese citizens have gone through in the past, they show that their light will never be dimmed, and will only shine brighter if someone tries to put their light out. Although they are coming to UIUC for an education, UIUC needs them too. They have helped to create a huge Asian community on campus which can be seen throughout many Asian restaurants, Chinese business owners, and the students that can be seen when someone is visiting the campus. Not only that, but UIUC has multiple clubs for the Chinese Community such as the Chinese Independant Film Society, China Studies Forum, Wushu Club, and more (3).